School Building Collapses After Heavy Rain

A one-storey building of ten classrooms in Agbado District Comprehensive High School in Ifo Local government area of Ogun state has collapsed.

Our correspondent gathered that the building collapsed after the heavy rain fall on Saturday.

It was further gathered that the building was donated by former Senator Iyabo Obasanjo-Bello while she was representing Ogun Central Senatorial District at the Senate between 2007 and 2011 as one of her constituency projects.

Our correspondent learnt that the building which had suffered years of neglect after been abandoned was never put to use by the state government.

Residents of the community who spoke to our correspondent on Sunday said, the building before its collapse had posed a serious threat to the lives of students and staff of the school.

They said they had called the attention of the state government to the the dilapidated state of the school’s infrastructure.

A resident of the community, Kolawole Adelani described the incident as “a long-overdue catastrophe waiting to happen”.

Adelani said, “The building has stood there for more than fifteen years, plagued with structural issues. Everyone feared that such a tragedy was imminent. Thankfully, no lives were lost”.

The President of the Agbado District Old Students’ Association (ADCHSOSA), Ganiyu Olowu who also spoke to our correspondent said, the building collapse was a disaster for seen.

“Today (Saturday) during the early afternoon rain, a long stretch of multiple classroom one-storey building collapsed at our Alma Mater, Agbado District Comprehensive High School in Oke Aro”, Olowu said.

He said the alumni association had repeatedly alerted the state Ministry of Education about the deteriorating condition of the building and the potential danger it posed to students.

“As stakeholders working with the state government to ensure holistic education across the state, we drew the attention of the former Commissioner to the alarming state of the building.

“We were assured that a team would be sent to inspect the site. While they did visit, no action has been taken on this massive classroom project initiated by Senator Iyabo Obasanjo-Bello many years ago. As we speak, there are parts of the collapsed building that can cause more havoc when students are around”, he added.

He also lamented the state of infrastructure within the school premises, saying “many infrastructure in the school have deteriorated to an appalling level, reflecting a system plagued by negligence and a lack of prioritization of students’ safety and welfare”.